Dragon School

Year 6 Boys Boarding

Charlbury and Strad’s – the Year 6 boys’ Boarding Houses

There are two Year 6 boarding houses for boys – Stradling’s and Charlbury. These Houses are homes for around 40 ten and eleven year old boys in Year 6. The Houses themselves are North Oxford family houses, and the Houseparents and their families live in and amongst a maximum of twenty-five Dragon children each. There is also a resident matron, who is an 18 or 19 year old girl on a gap year. She helps with the domestic side of life, and acts as something of an older sister to the children.

Unlike many schools, our Boarding Houses are not just used at night time. The children are in and out of them throughout the day, and the Houseparents get to know them extremely well and very quickly! The children return to the Houses after breakfast, at mid-morning , lunchtime and at tea-time for cakes and drinks, and are often around the house and garden in their free-time.

AFTER SCHOOL - At 4.15 p.m. when the school day ends, the children return to their houses for afternoon tea. After this they may have a club, organised termly (see Activities & Clubs leaflet) or free time. Following supper they attend a staff-supervised prep on Monday – Thursday. On Friday evening the children have “Spectrum”

– a programme of lectures, music or drama.

Both Houses have a team of teachers attached to them as “dorms takers”. They take the children for prep and then take them for an activity; perhaps a swim, into the gym, or maybe board games, a quiz or a story back at House.

Playing in the garden after schoolMid-morning ‘bunbreak’

WEEKENDS - On Saturday there is normal school in the morning until lunchtime. In the afternoon there are activities for the junior boarders (eg judo, swimming, climbing & cooking).

Children are free to go out after the School Service (c. 10.45 a.m) on Sundays. Some go out most Sundays, some every two or three weeks and some only at exeats. Whilst a lot of children are out with parents or their friends’ parents, we always have 80-100 children in, for whom we have special activities (see Boarders’ Weekends leaflet).

After prep - a swim... ...or a quieter evening in house

Cooking cookies!

After this the children are free to organise their own time. Alternatively, unless they are involved in matches against other schools, they are also free to go out with their parents from 12.15 for the rest of the day.

Children can go out with parents and friends all but six weekends in the school year. Three of these are the first weekends of term (only three days after the start of each term).

Junior House children have an expedition or activity in school arranged especially for them every Sunday afternoon. Generally, Sundays are a mixture of relaxed time in the house, and an activity.

Inflatables at the weekend

BIRTHDAYS - Birthdays are special times and we like to celebrate them in House. Boys and girls whose birthday falls during the term-time are offered a special birthday tea. Parents are very welcome to come to birthday teas in House.

Bushcraft course

KEEPING IN TOUCH - All the children have their own email address and can send or receive emails on any of the computers around the school. The five computers in the house are the ones they will probably use the most. The computers also have Skype facilities which is particularly useful for overseas boarders.

In addition each of the houses has two separate telephone lines for children to use and for parents to reach them.

No money or cards are needed. Each child has a PIN, which allows us to bill parents for all calls made. Mobile phones are not allowed at school.

Who Are The Boarders?

Boarders are very much the heart of the school, and they benefit from being with children from a wider range of backgrounds than is present in more traditional boarding schools. We have children from local, national & international backgrounds. About 25% of our boarders are London-based and 25% are from Oxford & surrounding counties. The remainder come from further afield and include 20% who are from English families living overseas.

Often we find that it is at about this age that children are beginning to grow out of smaller schools (particularly if they are in cities). They are ready for new challenges and a wider range of sport and activities. Three years at the Dragon allow children to take two smaller steps into a large senior school, rather than one large one.

Charlbury and Strad’s receive boys from the three Junior Houses, some day children turning over to boarding and some children totally new to the school. The new children fit in extremely well and this is helped by the fact that all the other children are at least new to the House, if not the school.

CHARLBURY (3 Charlbury Road)

Houseparents: Gareth & Jemma JonesGareth teaches English and History and is also the Director of Sport, meaning that he is heavily involved with the coaching of games from the 1st XV to E Block. As the youngest of ten children, he is well used to living in a large household. Jemma was formerly the Head of PE at the Dragon and, as an ex-international hockey player, is also fairly handy on the games pitches. They have three children, Ava (4 years old), Darcie (2 yrs old) and Jacob who was was born in February 2011.

With the supervision of meals in the dining hall as well, the Houseparents will see the children every couple of hours.In addition to the pastoral duties, the Housemaster also acts as academic tutor. There is a constant flow of information between the Houseparents and the

STRADLING’S (1 Charlbury Road)

Houseparents: John & Sarah Warlow

John and Sarah moved in to Strads in September 2011 with their two children Sam (3) and Jess (1), and their Labrador Murphy. John teaches French and History, and coaches games, and Sarah teaches French and German. Away from school, they can usually all be found in rural France.

academic staff, both informally and via progress reports. Houseparents go through these reports with the children and parents, and follow up on them as necessary. With some senior schools requiring pre-assessments to be done in Year 6, the houseparents, along with the Headmaster, will advise parents on choice of schools.

For further information about Boardingat the Dragon, please contact:

Desmond Devitt, Registrar Telephone: 01865 315405

E-mail: admissions@dragonschool.org

Dragon School, Bardwell Road, Oxford OX2 6SSwww.dragonschool.org

The Dragon School Trust Ltd is registered as a charity, no. 309676, and as a limited company, no. 524331, at the above address

Is Boarding For You?

Coming to see round the Dragon is obviously the first step. Children usually make their first visit about 12 – 18 months before they come. This is the Dragon litmus paper test. Does he go red with excitement or white with horror?! After this visit a lot of talking will take place in the family, as it is important that you all agree on your decision. Those that do go ahead are invited back for an academic assessment during the year prior to entry. In the Summer Term we invite the children to come for an overnight stay in one of the Junior Houses.